Supramolecular Self-Replicating Antimicrobials (Replicate)

Introducing supramolecular self-replicating antimicrobials

Antimicrobials are essential to treat and cure disease and infection. However, the high mutation rates of microbes and their capacity to develop resistance pose a threat to the effectiveness of many existing antimicrobials. This calls for the development of new antimicrobial agents with novel mechanisms. The ERC-funded Replicate project aims to design a new family of supramolecular self-replicating antimicrobials as an alternative to widely used single-molecule drugs. Specific metabolic routes of bacteria will transport dormant supramolecular precursors into the bacterial membrane where they will band together to create self-assembling peptide amphiphiles. Once established, the assemblies can catalyse their own synthesis, or self-replicate, thus accelerating production of peptide amphiphiles to increase membrane damage in target pathogens.